Metaverse-Integrated Scenario-Based Professional Training Based on the Social Learning Theory: Evidence From Achievement, Critical Thinking, Decision-Making Performance, and Behavioral Analysis

Enhancing students’ critical thinking and decision-making performances is an important issue in professional training. In the traditional video-based professional training mode, students generally lack the opportunity to experience and practice in problem contexts. From the perspective of Social Learning Theory (SLT), situating learners in contexts that depict real cases is crucial for fostering their critical thinking and decision-making competences. To address this issue, the present study proposes a metaverse-integrated scenario-based learning approach to providing authentic learning experiences and decision-making contexts. To evaluate the effectiveness of the approach, an experiment was conducted with two classes of students enrolled in a university-level course for pediatric skills training. One class was assigned to be the experimental group ( n = 28), which engaged in a metaverse context guided by SLT principles, while the other class was the control group ( n = 28), which received traditional instruction. The findings indicated that students who participated in the metaverse scenario learning demonstrated significantly better learning achievement, higher levels of critical thinking, and lower cognitive load compared to their peers in the traditional instruction group. The proposed model and findings provide valuable insights for informing future curriculum design and instructional practices aimed at enhancing learner outcomes in professional training contexts.